Shafali displays her worth on big day

A home World Cup final against South Africa. 40,000 fans making the Stadium seem like a circular wall of blue.

- GOMESH S @Navi Mumbai

You are taking guard for only the second time in the tournament after having come in as an injury replacement. What would you do? It is not a hard guess for most batters in the world. Try and soak in the moment, get off strike and build an innings.

But most batters are not Shafali Verma, she's sui generis. On Sunday, she took guard against Ayabonga Khaka-a veteran of multiple WCs-and stood still waiting for the seamer to get to the bowling crease. Then came the charge. She walked two steps down the crease and creamed the full delivery in the air between point and cover point. Right at that moment, the blue touchpaper was finally lit after the two hour rain delay. Shafali came into the team for this very thing-make an impact.